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Topic: They Who Cannot be Named: Demons against Devils (Read 11936 times)

The first rounds from the fleets began to reach the hostile vessels, sending several of them ablaze as entire sections began to break off. The hail of destruction continued as the enemy's vessels seemed to refrain from firing despite the weapons seemingly reaching capacity.

As promptly as the coalition rained death upon the apparent foe, an unexpected event would soon shatter the forces' current momentum.

Massive waves of light, energy and mildly distorted space burst forth from the enemy vessels before finally succumbing to the attacks, jamming all sensors which were aimed at the former targets.

Flash weapons?!, Sforza slightly grunted while covering his eyes amidst the sudden glare. Quickly regaining his composure, he got hold of the comms system and began to call on the entire Choro fleet.

//ALL UNITS SWITCH TO SECONDARY SENSORS!

REPORT YOUR STATUS IMMEDI-//

However, before he could finish his words, an all too familiar sound came within earshot of his person.

SSSHHHRRRKKKK

The massive tug of negative pressure began to pull wildly at the Professor's shaken form as a rip in the vessel's bridge swiftly came to his notice.

"Wha-", the professor grabbed hold of a nearby chair as several other bridgehands managed to do the same. The rest of the officers weren't so fortunate.

Moments later, a rather unwelcome voice rang across the network as the hole in the compromised chamber slowly began to mend itself.

//Leaving post-haste, Professor?//, Hiraoto remarked, anticipating Sforza's plan to switch to a different ship in an attempt to avoid decapitation of the fleet's command structure, namely himself. //Unfortunately, you might find such an endeavor rather ... difficult.//

Dusting himself off, Sforza hailed the fleet again as several personnel ran into the bridge to replace the ones who were lost to the recent attack.

"Four left...", Sforza muttered as he received word from the fleet's only surviving, albeit vastly damaged ships.

As luck would have it, the hostile ships were nothing but glorified decoys, a trap to lure the coalition's attention as volleys of precise strikes from multiple directions managed to pierce the interior of the Choro fleet amidst the resulting flash-induced confusion.

The collective Skrall on the Aracknash suddenly gasped in pain as swarms of ships where suddenly blinded by the flashes of light, the only defences they now had left where on their flanks while the offensive line was attempting to repair their blinded sensors.

A hint of frustration entered Scourge's mind, this was the type of battle he had wished to avoid. Sheer numbers and fire power alone where not going to be enough against this highly mobile and strategic enemy, if the Core kept using their usual tactics, they would simply keep getting lured into mindless and useless charges like this...

"Why didn't they fi-" Scourge was suddenly interrupted by the ships secondary sensors coming back online, giving him a full view of what just happened to the Coro fleet... it was devastated, only four ships remaining, and they seemed to be in pretty bad shape.

Scourge did not even haft to order the fleet to begin repairing their primary sensors as soon as possible, with them blind the Jyunkishi could continue striking like that without abandon, and he would likely aim at them next.

Meanwhile, the ships that where previously engaging the decoy targets where attempting to form up again while repairing their damaged primary sensors as soon as possible.

« Last Edit: December 17, 2010, 11:17:22 am by SimplyNecro »

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Quote from: The Evil Overlords Handbook

30. All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.

What choice was there to make? Any Combine commander worth his ounce in biomass knew what to do in the event of an enemy boarding operation: Fight like dogs until the boarders where eliminated or ensure that any sort of gain they could ever get from the ships was eliminated, through any manner deemed necessary.

The inside of a Combine ship was a strange mess of organic and machine mixed together, and at every corner the Nameless boarders encountered incredibly fierce resistance. Especially inside such a crucial target such as a battleship or a carrier, there would be no retreat, no surrender, and for every inch of ground the Nameless attempted to take inside the Core’s vessels, the Combines fanatical soldiers and slave troops made sure that "They" would pay for it, tenfold, and if there was an absolute certainty that the Nameless would have a chance at taking over the vessel and somehow using it for their own gain...

Outside, the craft the Nameless did not board where either finished or near finished repairing their primary sensors, slowly but surely the rest of the fleet was beginning to rouse from it's flash induced stupor.

//All commanders, sub-commanders, and warlord minors, you know the proper procedures should your ships threatened to be captured.// Scourge stated matter-of-factly, it was not a question as he already knew what the answer should be, nothing less than fighting to the death, and utter destruction of anything that could aid the enemy and that was assuming the Nameless had the tenacity to match the Combine’s savage fighters.

"The Slave fleet is to be considered expendable." Scourge remarked towards the ships that where currently being boarded. "We have reserves ((hehe Tvtropes)), all units prepare for the incoming ships approaching from sector 4A." With that, a brand new wave of Combine craft began to show themselves, displaying the Core militaries ability to absorb casualties and deploy in numbers that would make Communicants blush. The new craft quickly began to set up a new offensive line against the incoming ships, and it was not to much of a stretch to say that there were probably more where they came from.

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Quote from: The Evil Overlords Handbook

30. All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.

Flesh clashed with flesh and metal clashed with metal as the Nameless boarders and Combine defenders fought over every inch of the latter's ships. As the Nameless tried to commandeer the vessels one by one, something which can only be considered a surgically precise chain of self-inflicted sabotage was seen on the Core's part as they destroyed any possible means of letting their opponents have the crafts for themselves.

While at first the numbers claimed by the assault seemed like a heavy toll, the sudden inflow of Combine reinforcements swiftly took care of the matter.

Yet, for some reason, despite the battle tipping into the coalition's favor, something fundamentally important seemed to be lacking from the latest bout.

//Congratulations on your most recent tactical victory. However...//, he quickly followed, a different aura, one of disappointment, radiating through the network.

Back on the front, the previously large signatures of energy began to dissipate one by one, leaving behind cold and relatively lifeless shells on the coalition's sensors. At the same time, a series of visual distortions ran through the majority of the enemy fleet, revealing that most were, in fact, merely a collection of relatively primitive decoys.

On the SEWP-01's bridge...

//Farewell, Professor Sforza...//, the Jyunkichi said in a recently received prerecorded message sent personally to Sforza's vessel. //It was, mildly fascinating, this masquerade...//

//Worry not.//, he continued as the Professor visible clenched his fist as an ambivalent grin fell on his face. //I shall personally send Professor Talsenreave your regards.//

//After I reveal to him how I stealthily bypassed your defenses.//

Supreme commander Scourge received a similar message.

Both basically read the same way.

Thank you for getting distracted... I am now on my way to the station...

The resulting clang of metal hitting an organic hulls originated from Scourge slamming a nearby console in frustration to this devious trick. "Sacrificing an ship of that size...as a distraction..." Scourge did not know whether to call Horao brilliant or just plain wasteful, still, plain fact of the matter was that it worked...

"Redirect any nearby War Fleets towards the Talsenreave!" Scourge bellowed across the Hive Network, the urgency of the task was obvious. "I care not how many craft, machines, or slaves you must throw at them, you will hold them off!" He finished as he closed up his connection to the network.

"It should be obvious where we need to go, redirect the war fleet towards the Talsenreave..." He continued as his rage began to subside and his voice slowly became more monotone as the cybernetic sections of his brain began to calculate new strategies an organize new data. There was no way in hell that the Core would allow the Nameless to control the station, or perhaps they simply wanted to destroy it? No matter, Scourge already knew what to do in either situation, if they wished to destroy it, then he would allocate all the resources necessary to protect that station until it was unfeasible to do so, and if the Nameless wanted to gain control of it, and there where signs that they would succeed in doing so....

I'll destroy it myself...

The Supreme Commanders War Fleet began to redirect their course as fast as they could, they left the dead and dying ships behind, knowing full well that they would be of little use in the next battle. Salvage ships soon arrived to pick them up, waste not want not after all. Meanwhile, other smaller fleets where being redirected towards the Talsenreave, they would arrive before the mainfleet to hopefully stall Horao before he managed to gain another tactical advantage.

« Last Edit: January 19, 2011, 01:45:27 pm by SimplyNecro »

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Quote from: The Evil Overlords Handbook

30. All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.

//Go forth, likewise, the lot of you.//, the Jyunkichi turned its attention to the trailing remnants of the demolished Experimental Fleet.

//Verily, Professor. Enact the self-fulfilling loss which you so blindly seek to make haste.//

"Detecting an urgent transmission from the Choro Deidalus Super Experimental Weapons Fleet!", one of the comms officers manning Talesnreave's defensive forces exclaimed. "Opening now...", it added as the message began to play amidst the superiors currently present.

It didn't take long before the gravity of the situation was completely realized. All across the station, section upon section began to lock down as guards scrambled to secure the labyrinthine matrices of the station's unfinished portions.

Outside, whatever there was of the coalition's defending fleet, began to shift formation in anticipation of the expected attack.

The heightened security surrounding the colossal structure eventually reached the notice of everyone within the station. Those sheltered within the bunkers were no exceptions.

Lazora grasped tighter onto the small necklace dangling beneath his neck. Slowly, he began to hum, to steady his uneasy consciousness.

Gradually, the voice grew in strength as the humming gave way to a solemn, lyrical melody.

Kiyavi...

Kiyavi slammed his nippers against the bridge's desk as his vessel, along with the rest of his command, received Sforza's message.

Fresh from dispatching a flotilla of Corrupted forces, the Orealyianis vessels set out once again. This time, directly toward the ensangered station itself.

"To think he'd really work for the Nameless...", Kiyavi thought of the sly Jyunkichi as he ran through the battle records relayed by Sforza's fleet. Composing himself, he set his eye towards the small dot in the sky which showed the Talesnreave's location. Rising from his seat, he opens the comms netork and announces to his entire force.

//All units, advance at full speed! We have to get to the station as soon as possible!//

There was a resounding cascade of affirmatives as everyone received the order.

Self-fulfilling ... loss?, Sforza wondered as he reviewed the battle that had transpired mere moments ago, searching for any signs which might lead him to decipher his insidious opponent's taunts.

I'll prove you wrong, Harao!, he exclaimed in his mind, a slight ambivalent grin forming in his face. Even if not completely...

Even if...

Barely just enough...

To finally...

Bring you DOWN.

As myriad points of light trickled around the Talsenreave, Sforza braced his soul for the TRUE battle ahead.

In hindsight, everything before the upcoming struggle seemed naught but a prelude to the intense battle of wits that would soon unfold amidst the station itself.

The organic doors of the Supreme Commanders quarters melted open, allowing the behemoth of a battle armored Skrall through. All throughout the assault fleet, his assault fleet, preparation where being made, gravitic missile ports where being reloaded, calibrators checked, and gravitic generators calibrated to produce their full output, and it was all being done like a well oiled machine.

Scourge wandered through the dark quarters until he approached another mass of organic looking tendrils, a hive port like that which was found on almost every Combine ships bridge.

"Integrate" The Skrall spoke, and on cue the mass of bionic tendrils began to twitch and search all over the Scourge’s armor, their sensors looking for points to integrate themselves in. "Integration complete: Initialize connection: Priority: Supreme Commanders Report: Connection request with Central Hive Command: Request Accepted: Standby." Scourged felt billions upon billions of communication blocks, firewalls, spy detectors, and all manners computerized defenses open up for his connection alone, indeed, only he was ever allowed to use this line.

"Your Supreme Commander reports…

My lords…"

There was only one group of beings Scourged called his lords…

Wordless garble that would have instantly confused the most sophisticated translation systems in the galaxy filled through the Supreme Commander Com network. To any other sentient, it would have been as if some strange combination of random screaming, digital screeching, and bestial howling had suddenly assaulted their ears, but not to a Skrall, not to Scourge, what he was hearing was not the rantings of a mad sentient, he was hearing Gospel.

"Yes, the Talsenreave will fall under assault. Yes, affirmative."

More of the cacophonous blasting filled the Commanders senses, but he hung upon each alien word, committing them to a personal file within his mind to review later.

"I understand my lords, but I tire of working with these vermin, when do we-" Scourge argument was cut off by the "things" reply on the other end, he immediately mentally reprimanded himself for even questioning the Overlords.

"Yes, I know our mission…"

To send the Nameless a message…

The organic doors of the Aracknash’s bridge melted open as the Supreme Commander stepped inside, not a single organism had moved from their spot since he had left, just as he ordered. Stepping into the middle of the circular room, hundreds of control modules in the form of tendrils tethered themselves onto his armor, linking him back up to the cybernetic world and returning him to his command position.

Scourged took a nanosecond to search the channels for a frequency to connect to the Talsenreave, he needed a status report ten minutes ago. Skrall transmissions that did not involve the threats and declaration that your species would be enslaved or destroyed where always forceful, blunt, and to the point, no formalities and such. "Contact them."

//Talsenreave defense force, this is Core Combine Assault fleet 0000001 "Overlords Wrath". We require a status report of any current damages or Nameless assaults….

Also the handing over of any available non-vital personnel (civilians, prisoners, ect) for Skrallification would likely aid the current war effort…//

Hey? It couldn't hurt to ask…

Talsenreave

A brutal number of spacial disturbances began to appear on every ship near the Talsenreave, and for that matter, Beyon. Soon after, the Core Combine assault fleet bursted through the void in all it's glory and horror, indeed, under normal circumstances this situation would have been a lot more violent. Of course indeed, the space around the Talsenreave and the skies of Beyon would soon be filled with destruction and carnage, but the most unlikely allies would be causing it to the most unlikely enemies.

« Last Edit: February 10, 2011, 11:54:56 am by SimplyNecro »

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Quote from: The Evil Overlords Handbook

30. All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.

Somewhere within the station itself, the familiar hiss of depressurizing gas emanated from one of the station's terminals, the swift shuffling of an air-locked gate following soon after.

Solid footsteps reverberated across the docks as a brief gust of wind preceded the sudden influx of a dozen winged figures. The sound of priming weapons greeted the brief vicinity as the beings from the gate readied their respective armaments.

Clad in short, pitch-black robes, they scanned the immediate area through their dull gray masks. As their garments swept the floor with every dash they took, their previously thunderous steps became less and less apparent, while physically still pronounced.

Moments later, another set of figures exited the open portal. Wielding higher calibers compared to the former party, the latter group of soldiers encircled a central entity.

"Is it clear?", a familiar voice inquired from within the formation.

A swift "Affirmative." went from one of the escorts as everyone in the chamber finished probing their surroundings.

None but a slight nod returned to the answering officer as his superior seemed to approved of the statement while viewing the terminal through his thick red lens.

Turning towards his subordinate, the higher officer gave a slight nod as the other responded with a brief yet firm salute.

"All units are to proceed to their assigned rendezvous points!", a voice containing an eerie mixture of fear, anger and excitement announced to the rest of the unit. "All forces, move out!"

With that, the company divided and went their separate ways.

Another spectacle of lights appeared over Talsenreave as a sizable complement of Orealyianis vessels resurfaced to normal space.

"Looks like we made it...", Kiyavi sighed in relief as his ship took its place amongst the other defensive forces, the rest of his unit quickly following suit.

Slumping into his chair, he turned his eye towards one of the many projections which showed the massive station. Instantly, the young admiral snapped back to form as he cleared his throats before uttering his next order.

"Contact our garrison.", he commanded, to which the bridge's comms officers promptly set themselves to work. "Inform them that I am officially reassuming command of the Stellar Naval garrison.", he added, before composing himself once more.

Something deeply bothered the young admiral, however. And yet, it was not clear to him exactly what was exceedingly troubling about his thoughts.

Little did he know that another, equally troubled person was finally starting to form the exact same conclusion.

The Choro officers' combat suits became less and less in contrast with the palette of their immediate surroundings as they went deeper and deeper into the as of yet incomplete portions of the sprawling construct.

Taking the main route would be far too obvious..., Sforza thought to himself as he and his unit carried on their way, zigzagging across the structure's complex web of backdoor passages, all in an attempt to lose a hypothetical opponent which can potentially be tracking their movements right then and there.

Not long after they arrive in the vicinity of the station, he was greatly disturbed by a certain, unusual fact which seemed vastly out of place for someone who had purportedly ran to the station long before they began to give chase, namely...

The lack of enemy presence.

It was, for Sforza, far too quiet for comfort.

While he did not certainly like the alternative, it was becoming more and more real by the instance, as his mind plunged into a mad race to out-predict his insidious adversary.

Harao..., Sforza thought to himself as he tried to make sense of it all. The sly Jyunkichi was never shy of compounding deception after deception. The trick was to find out which actions were merely meant as distractions and which ones were the actual, real deal. Then again, he could just as simply be complicating the matter entirely, obscuring his view of a scheme which might already be blatantly obvious.

There was practically little way to distinguish which way the Jyunkichi's current plan rolled, especially as it was compounded by its somewhat ambiguous objective.

At worst, he will have to wait for the opponent's next move.

For now he could only hope that it was yet the coup de grace, as he raced to the location of a certain valuable Professor.

"So are verminous foe friend has arrived?" Scourge mused as he read the new readouts. Multiple signals appeared to be converging on the Talsenreave.

The commanders’ mental commands filled the network instantly as the fleet began to arrange it’s self in defensive formations. Meanwhile, smaller sweeper fleets began to probe suspicious areas of space, their purpose being to draw their hidden foes reserves into firing, which would allow the rest of the fleet to smother them.

First blood was soon spilled.

Gravity distorted and twisted metal and biological hulls where flayed as the Core and the Nameless fleet began to square off against each other around the Talsenreave, hopefully the Core’s stubborn defense would be enough to hold off the ambushes.

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Quote from: The Evil Overlords Handbook

30. All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.

The intense blaring of the station's countless sirens and the sudden change of the hallways' normally dull hue alerted Sforza and his unit of the fierce battle that had erupted beyond the megastructure's outer hull. Picking up the pace, the Captain bolted across the last set of suspended walkways that led to a service pipe headed directly for Talsenreave's personal bunker.

Reaching the small shaft, Sforza paused for a moment before slowly lifting the thick metallic plate which concealed the exceedingly narrow entrance. The circular hole was just small enough for an average Choro to walk through, perfect for the Captain and his companions.

"Before we drop in...", Sforza called his unit's attention, plate still in hand and sights dead set on the descending passage ahead. "... I'd like to share something, interesting, that I realized just these past few moments..."

"Permission to speak, Captain.", one of his subordinates asked while slowly approaching him.

"Permission granted.", Sforza quickly replied.

"I don't think now's the best ti-", the Choro said before being promptly interrupted by a large disc of metal barely missing slicing her upper body clean off her waist.

"AHA!", Sforza yelled triumphantly as the apparently hollowed out husk of a Choro made a resounding thud as it fell on the cold steel floor.

The Captain's voice changed to that of frustration, however, as he realized the gruesome deception was already free of its former occupant.

"Harao...", he cursed under his breath while tightening his grip on his weapon, his head growing even hotter as he saw the rest of the team's corpses scattered and pinned by their own weapons all across the massive chamber.

Outside, the battle had intensified, the fleet of Corrupted relentless in its push against the equally adamant defenders.

Some distance away from the crossfire, multiple thresholds of icteric light protruded from the silent void, bringing with them a small collection of Awakened Atomna.

Soon enough, one of the Combine's sweeper fleets chanced upon the sudden interdiction, bearing their arms against the obsidian behemoths, the assembly of Awakened experienced the full brunt of the patrol fleet's arsenal, bringing them to a halt as their sights were shifted from the station and into the assortment of ships currently stalling their advance. A sudden flash of yellow consumed one of the monsters, escaping the fleet's sights for but a fleeting moment before appearing right behind them and unleashing a concentrated lance of particles which quickly swept across the fleet.

The Atmona continued their advance toward the station as one of them were left behind to contend with the harassing fleet.

Back on the Orealyianis' command within the station itself, officers buzzed across the crowded chamber as they raced to compensate for the Atomna's presence.

Most everyone did likewise as large chunks of the coalition's defensive fleet were redirected to deal with the Atomna threat.

"Admiral! Our forces defe-", one of the officers turned around to alert Kiyavi, only to find him missing from the command room.

"I will be reassuming command of this garrison...", said an Orealyianis officer as he strode into the chamber. "... until Admiral Kiyavi's return."

"Shield: ON!", Sforza whispered, a thin film of particles sprang from his wing armor and wrapped across his entire body. It wouldn't last for long against small arms concentrated fire, just enough to locate the Assassin's position before needing actual cover.

Not long after, the first volley was fired, with Sforza barely evading while shooting back at the enemy that was now zipping all across the upper walkways.

Sforza settled behind a stack of nearby crates as he continued to scan the area for Harao's presence.

Back outside, the Atomna began to part ways as they charge towards the station at different angles in an attempt to spread the defenders thin.

One of the Atomna quickly took hold of an outlying Orealyianis destroyer, subsequently turning one of its hands into a drill-like implement which it then drove deep into the vessel. A massive burst of light followed as a barrage of distorted space pelted the defensive line, ripping apart several off-guard ships which underestimated the beams' individually wider beam radii.

As the corrupted made their push they were met with the seemingly inexhaustible supply of Combine fodder. The entire battle field was screened with the Core’s countless ships and where many where destroyed; even more simply took their place. To the Combine, such ships where expendable. A lot of things where expendable to the Combine.

"Commander, special distortion detected in the sector, its signature matches that of the awakened Atmona on Olosis, they have crippled one the sweeper fleets and are on the approach!"

Scourge inspected the signal and indeed, the sensors weren’t incorrect. "Send another slave fleet towards them. We can’t let them exploit a gap in our defenses!"

As the Atmona made their way to the station they too were engaged by nearby patrol fleets. The sweepers themselves where not expected to do that much damage, they were meant to be a nuisance if anything. The real unit to act as a roadblock was the engaging slave fleet. As the Atmona made their approach they where swarmed by countless raider armors, fighters, and even frigates charging into the close combat, and countless other expendable ships also proceeded to engage the Atmona, caring not for their own losses, they cared only for the enemies death.

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Quote from: The Evil Overlords Handbook

30. All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.

With open arms did the Atomna welcome the advancing wall of steel and flesh of which there seemed no limit. Tensing up, the obsidian colossi rammed their way through the first wave of defenders as an endless stream of concentrated fire pelted their resilient form. The beasts were quick to strike back, conjuring countless runes in the void which spewed forth an intense hail of icteric beams, effortlessly running through entire files of densely packed ships. Conjuring another set of symbols, a second salvo collided with the Combine's diversionary fleets.

It was then that the true defenses were fully brought to bear. The sheer collective force of the Combine slave fleet smashed over the Atomna's heads like a monstrous torrent of solid neutronium bricks, pinning them in place for the ever increasing volume of fire. However adamant, even the Atomna's seemingly unyielding shells were starting to show signs of wear. Microscopic dents were stacking over one another all across the battered surface, the infinitesimal fractures collecting over time becoming visible to the naked eye.

The sound of weapons fire consumed the station's otherwise silent interior as Sforza and Harao continued exchanging shots while hopping from platform to platform. A perpetual stalemate, neither individual could gain the upper hand for long.

Finally, a string of precise suppressive fire backed Sforza to a corner, bringing the draw to a close but at the Captain's disadvantage.

Harao..., Sforza's sights constantly jumped between the many possible locations of the lone Jyunkichi Assassin. Suddenly, the sound of bouncing metal graced the Captain's senses, alerting him of a grenade recently thrown his direction. With no time to lose, he burst into the open, inadvertently exposing himself. Cursing under his breath, he leaped just in time to avoid the ensuing blast. Raising his weapon against Harao's most likely location, Sforza peppered the area shortly before realizing the enemy's true location.

Harao lined his sights against Sforza as his finger slowly tightened on the trigger.

However, before he could finish the act, a flash of light entered from the side of his eyes. Less than a second later, several rounds of plasma had barely flown past his mortal frame. Receding, he melds into the shadows once again to hide from the sudden armed intrusion.

Sforza crashed into one of the many suspended platforms, slightly dazed but alive. Scanning his surroundings, he searched for the source of the unexpected intervention while dashing towards proper cover.

Another set of flashes lit the chamber as the battle's focus shifted towards Harao and the sudden intruder.

Outside, the Orealyianis forces were suffering heavy losses from the Atomna which recently fused itself with a fully armed destroyer. The resulting hybrid construct possessed all the standard power as well as amplified versions of a destroyer's full arsenal.

Already, a massive chunk of the fleet has succumbed to the Atomna's relentless barrage of SEACESSV fire.

♪

Elsewhere inside the station, in one of the many safe bunkers located within the colossal structure, Lazora and his colleagues huddled together as the siege outside only increased in ferocity.

The group observed the battle outside intently from a small screen hanging on the chamber's ceiling.

The defenders, despite considerable losses, were so far capable of holding the line. Despite the seemingly endless stream of enemies, the battle seemed to be mostly at a standstill thanks to the coalition's own source of bottomless reinforcements.

Regardless, all Lazora could think was that Kiyavi's force was finally here, and by extension, the young admiral himself.

The melody in Lazora's voice only became more confident, his solemn whispers becoming actual words as he continued to sing as before to calm his uneasy thoughts.

The Atmona where graciously welcomed to the Talsenreave, with guns. The Combine showered beautiful presents of shattering gravitic death over and over again. No matter how many Combine ships were gunned down by their formidable foes they always seem to have plenty of replacements and the many the small cracks that began to appear on the Atmona’s seemingly impenetrable armor only seem to spur the Core to increase the viciousness and persistence of its attacks, seeing as they were now having an effect.

Elsewhere, across the battlelines the Combine began to up its ruthlessness. The battle was practically at a stalemate as the attackers and the defenders continued to draw upon their endless supplies of reinforcements. Across the battlefield the Core began to unleash its most devastating gravitic weapons, no longer caring whether or not Beyon would be harmed or not in the ensuing carnage. Indiscriminate bombing and devastating suicide runs using kamikaze attacks were starting to appear as the Core began to cast aside any notion of lowering collateral damage. In the end the victor of this battle was going to be the more ruthless one. Even the arrival of reinforcements from the Orealyanis did not seem to calm them.

In the sense slowly the Skrall’s battle lust was starting to get to them, and the Combine was starting to go a bit… Berserk

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Quote from: The Evil Overlords Handbook

30. All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.

The Photos task fleet G-129 had returned to orbit around Photise to get new instructions when the High Command recieved word of the assault on Talsenreave Station. The task force was ordered to move in and assist the defenders."Ok, listen up. Here's the plan," said Kar'shes, the task force's commander. "The defenders are stationed outside Talsenreave, firing at the Nameless, who are pressing in towards the station. We're going to come in from behind and trap the Nameless in a kill zone. Focus antimatter fire on the Atomna, they're the hardest to take down. Fire the plasma guns and Plasma Projectors at the slave ships."=------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------=Behind the Nameless fleet appeared 25 large, noticeable energy signatures, a split second warning as to what was coming. Regardless, by the time they could react, it was too late: A fleet of 25 dreadnoughts had materialized as if from nowhere, divulging volley after volley of plasma shots while the antimatter reactors spun up. They were trapped. They were flanked by the unstoppable force and the immovable object.